


Mending Magic and Minds

by Tahrovinlaat_Hi_Neh_Koraav



Series: Tales from the Nexus [8]
Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fantastic Four, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Family Feels, Family Reunions, First Kiss, Foreshadowing, He can't turn it off, I don't know if this would actually work, It's not a Harem, Just Roll With It, Kristoff can be a little shit, Kristoff finally makes an appearance, M/M, Mage Sight, Medical Meets Magical, Medical Procedures, Multi, Oops, Other, Soul Stone Tony Stark, Surgery, Temporary Character Death, Tony accidentally blinded him, Victor can see magic, Victor von Doom is a Good Dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-17
Packaged: 2021-02-26 05:40:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21828361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tahrovinlaat_Hi_Neh_Koraav/pseuds/Tahrovinlaat_Hi_Neh_Koraav
Summary: Victor is finally well enough to have the blocks taken off and his magic restored... even if the means by which they do it seems insane all on its own. But he's ready to take his life back, and he'll have his partners with him every step of the way... along with a dearly missed family member.
Relationships: Dragon harem, Tony Stark/Stephen Strange, Victor von Doom & Kristoff Vernard
Series: Tales from the Nexus [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1236017
Comments: 9
Kudos: 106





	Mending Magic and Minds

**Author's Note:**

> As promised, Vassals!! Trust me, there's a reason we're putting this scene in a one-shot instead of the upcoming chapter... you'll just have to wait and see!! 
> 
> Big thanks to these people!! 
> 
> AmandaJo  
> Arikins the Fox  
> BlindDingo  
> LvSoulFriend
> 
> You know what you did, loves! Enjoy this one-shot, everyone!

Victor had to admit-- the plan the people in front of him had come up with to remove the blocks from his magic was ingenious. 

It was also  _ insane _ . 

“So… you’re telling me that, to remove the blocks on my magic…” He swallowed hard, green eyes flashing with trepidation, “you want to  _ stop my heart _ ??”

Bridget nodded at that, her own lips pulled in a firm line. “I know it sounds ludicrous, but there’s a reason we want to do it like that. When you first were brought to us, you were in the advanced stages of congestive heart failure-- your heart  _ had _ to get stronger before we thought about removing the blocks.”

The monarch swallowed hard and nodded. “Because of the failsafe built into them.” 

Verdigris eyes were filled with a grim light as Stephen nodded at his words. “If they had been triggered, you would have suffered a massive heart attack. Given how weak your heart was at that point, you would have had little to no chance of surviving.”

“Fortunately, the organ strengthener, nutrient potion, and physical therapy have helped to mitigate most of the damage.” Tony continued, a proud smile briefly quirking at his lips. The brunette really had made a remarkable recovery-- although a part of that could be attributed to the people around him, especially his partners. “However, you still have a ways to go-- you’d still run the risk of a heart attack in a worst-case scenario.”

Bruce nodded from his seat near Victor, reaching over to gently run his hand on his partner’s knee in a comforting movement. “The thing is that the failsafe can’t go off if it doesn't register a beating heart. So the plan is to give you what would be considered an overdose of a potion called the ‘draught of living death’-- too much does actually result in death, but it can also be countered.”

Tony raised his hand once the doctor was done speaking. “That’s where my job starts-- I’ll be using my Soul Stone abilities to anchor your soul to the living world long enough for them to get the blocks out. Once they’ve been removed, they’ll begin the process of reviving you, at which point I’ll ease your soul back into your body.”

The man nodded again, reaching to take and squeeze Bruce’s hand. At the end of the day, no matter how crazy the plan was, he trusted everyone involved in the plan beyond a shadow of a doubt. “Alright,” He finally said, turning his now determined gaze back to them. “When are we doing this?”

The group gave him a collective smile before Bridget answered, “If you start fasting now, we could do it tomorrow morning. No food for the next twelve hours, nothing to drink two hours before. Sound good?”

A deep sigh escaped Victor as he nodded his agreement. Twelve hours. He could do that. 

\---

“Oh God, I can’t do this, what if something happens??”

Minowa gave Victor a loving smile as she kept pace next to the bed her lover was lying on. “ _ Diimalkro _ , remember who will be doing this surgery. You have the most talented wielder of the white arts in the entirety of the multiverse, the Sorcerer Supreme, one of the most brilliant scientists of this generation, and Anthony to aid in this procedure. You will be  _ fine _ .” 

The firm reassurance in his partner’s tone went a long way to settle the former monarch’s nerves, and he took several deep breaths as they continued in a comfortable silence the rest of the way to the double doors. Before they went through, the brunette looked up at Minowa again, something soft and fond and loving in his eyes. “See you on the other side?” He asked with a small, hopeful smile on his face. 

Crimson eyes sparkled with reciprocated love as the woman leaned over to gently press a kiss to his nose. “Of course, Victor. Remember, we’re with you in spirit. This will be over before you know it.” She moved to nuzzle his cheek before whispering something in his ear that made his eyes widen and his mouth fall open. Before he could say anything, the bed was pushed through the doors, leaving the Dragonborn on the other side. 

“Do I want to know what it is she said to you?”   
  
Victor craned his neck to look up and give the duo behind him a sheepish grin. “I kind of want to keep that to myself. Thank you for giving us the chance to talk.”

Bridget gave him an understanding smile as she moved ahead to push open the second set of doors. “It’s alright, Victor. Honestly, I’ve never seen Minowa as happy as she is with you and her other men. I know it didn’t seem like it, but she wants so desperately for this to work…”

“And it  _ will  _ work,” Stephen reassured them in a tone that brokered no room for argument as he continued to use his magic to move the bed along smoothly. “We’ve been over this procedure more than enough times, we practically have it memorized.”

A soft, slightly shaky sigh escaped the brunette as the bed was pushed into position. A moment later, Tony was standing over him, and the monarch couldn’t help the startled laugh that escaped him when he realized the genius was also in scrubs. “Is that necessary for you? You have magic…” 

Tony took a second to glance at Bridget, and the woman shot him a look that made him swallow hard and look back down. “Survey says yes. It’s probably better this way-- we don’t want to take any chances that this could go wrong.” 

A soft chuckle escaped Bruce as he approached as well, mask already over his face as well. “Only the truly insane go against Bridget Ivorsen in her own domain.” 

“Damn right!” The restoration master hollered from where she was setting aside several glowing blue potions on a table. “And Mara have mercy on you if you try!”

Stephen snorted in amusement as he positioned himself next to the bed as well. “Case in point… Alright, Victor, are you ready?”

The former monarch looked up and around at everyone, locking eyes with each of them before taking a deep breath and nodding. He trusted these people with his well being… now he would trust them with his life. “I’m ready.” 

Bruce nodded and reached for a mask, gently placing it over Victor’s nose and mouth. “Deep breaths, love, count back from ten.”

He nodded and began taking deep breaths, mentally counting back as he did so. He was under before he could make it to the end. 

-

“He’s down. Bridget, you’ve got the potion ready?”

The blonde approached with an IV drip filled with a clear liquid. “Right here. Everyone ready?” 

The group as a whole nodded, and as Bridget inserted the IV Tony turned to Bruce and placed his hand gently on the man’s shoulder, having noticed him shaking since removing the mask. “It’s gonna be fine, Bruce,” He murmured reassuringly in the scientist’s ear. “This will go just as we planned, and he’s gonna come out the other side with everything intact.” 

Bruce nodded and took several steadying breaths, brown eyes locked on the man on the table as the potion began to run through his system. It was only a minute or two before the machines and monitors around them began alerting them to changes. “Heartbeat is dropping steadily…” He murmured with a barely-there tremble in his voice. 

Tony’s eyes flared bright orange in preparation. 

“45 bpm… 40…”

Magic flared to life in Stephen’s hands, gold flowing around Bridget’s seconds later. 

“30… 25…” 

The restoration mage quickly did a double check to make sure the antidote and several magicka restoration potions were nearby. 

“10… 5…”

The sound of the heart-rate monitor flat-lining filled the room, and everyone exploded into action. Quick as a flash, Tony flung out his hand and clenched it, as if he were holding onto something. “I’ve got him. We have to do this fast, though, the human body isn’t meant to go for very long without a heartbeat.” 

The others nodded and quickly turned his arms so they were laying palms-up. Bruce quickly fell into his experience as a doctor, removing the first disc and quickly placing it on a tray next to him, Bridget right behind him to help cure the wounds. Stephen was maintaining vigil over the man’s metaphysical vitals, knowing that the more blocks that were removed, the quicker his magic would come back. He would flick his eyes to Tony every so often to make sure his soulmate was doing alright before continuing his job. 

It was as the fourth block came out that Stephen spoke up. “Slow down just a little bit-- the more blocks you remove, the more channels that are freed up for his magic to come back. If we take them all out so quickly, it’s like blowing apart a dam. Piece by piece, take your time.” 

“I don’t want to leave them in for too long, though…” Bridget replied, a bead of sweat on her brow. “I know we stopped his heart to prevent the failsafe from going off, but on the off chance they’re linked so if even  _ one _ stays in, it will happen, we need to get them all out now.” 

Stephen nodded at her words. “I don’t mean leave them in-- I just mean we need to give it a few seconds between each removal-- ten at the least. Victor will have to work up to being able to access his full magic again, but that doesn’t mean it’s not  _ there _ . If too much comes back at once, it could send him into metaphysical shock.”

Tony glanced over at him for a moment. “Is that still possible if he’s not  _ technically _ alive?”

The Sorcerer Supreme nodded with a furrow in his brow. “It’s like a tsunami hitting the coast-- the water all floods in, but eventually flows back out-- those magic reserves fill up, but because it was done too fast, they empty again almost immediately after.” 

Everyone nodded in understanding before getting back to work. They understood the implications of Stephen’s words-- too much too fast, and Victor ran the risk of losing access to part of his magic due to the sudden overload. Finally, Bruce made a triumphant noise as the last disc came out. “It’s out. Bridget, heal that wound up and hook up the antidote, I’ll get the defibrillator. Stephen, how are his magic vitals?”

Stephen studied the various glowing glyphs in front of him. “Holding steady for now, but we need to get his soul back in his body for them to stabilize fully. Tony, love, you ready?”

The genius nodded as he continued to stare intently at where Victor’s soul must have been. “Keep in mind, I haven’t done this very often, so we should probably get him back in his body sooner rather than later.” 

Bridget flicked on the inflow to allow the antidote to run into Victor’s system, and Bruce had his love attached to the defib in record time. “Ready?  _ Clear! _ ” 

A jolt caused Victor’s body to arch off the bed, and Tony made a surprised grunt as he suddenly lurched forward a bit. “This might be easier than we thought-- he  _ really _ wants to stay with us!” He gave them a grin. “Shock him one more time, that should be all it takes.” 

Bruce nodded, hope and relief flashing in his eyes. “Charging…  _ Clear! _ ”

Another jolt and the heartbeat monitor finally began to beep again. Bruce laughed with relief as he watched the heartbeat grow stronger with each passing second. “Bridget?”

The blonde looked up with a grin on her face. “The antidote is doing its job. We did it, guys!” 

The room gave a collective cheer-- Victor was in the clear. He was going to be okay.

\---

Victor came back to himself slowly, his head and ears feeling like they were full of cotton. He blinked his eyes open groggily and tried to look around, making a small raspy sound in the process. Immediately, someone moved on the other side of the room, and a familiar face was standing above him with a relieved smile. “Hey, not so quickly. You just came out of surgery, no need to get up on my account.” 

Despite how tired he was, the man’s emerald eyes lit up with joy and relief. “Kristoff??” 

The young man nodded and reached for something on the bedside table, pulling over a glass of water and a straw. “Hey dad,” He murmured, holding out the cup so his adopted father could take a few sips. “I’m glad you’re doing better… I was worried about you.” 

Victor took several sips before allowing his son to pull the cup away. “I’m so happy to see you again, Kris…” He choked, weakly reaching for Kris’ hand. 

“I missed you too, dad,” Kris replied with a noticeable hitch in his voice, grabbing his hand a squeezing it tightly. “After they told me about what Richards did…” He swallowed hard, tears of fear and anger welling up in his eyes. “I wanted to kick his ass, dad. I can’t believe he’d stoop so low…” He sniffed, a single tear running down his cheek. “Latveria and I owe the New Avengers a debt of gratitude… I can never thank them enough for saving you.” 

The older man gave him a tired smile, drinking in the features of his child that he hadn’t seen in months. “I’m grateful to them as well, Kris… That place was a prison of the worst kind.”

To Victor’s confusion, the king gave a small laugh while shaking his head. “Not just that, dad… they gave you your  _ life _ back. You’ve been happy and whole here… you built a life with all of these incredible, amazing people. They freed you from more than just the Baxter Building, dad…” 

The duo stared at each other in silence for several seconds as the former monarch studied the current one. Finally, a brilliant, content smile stretched across Victor’s face. “Yeah… they did.” A moment later, a furrow formed in his brow. “Kris, I think there’s something you need to know…” 

Instantly, a shit-eating grin crossed Kris’ face. “Oh, no need for that, dad. So, you got yourself pulled into a harem, huh?”

Emerald eyes widened and a squeak escaped the man before another, familiar voice filled the room. “It’s not a harem and you know it. Stop tormenting your father.”

Kris laughed out loud as Minowa finally made her way to the side of Victor’s bed. “Sorry, Min. I know he means more to you than that. I’m glad he has such loving, supportive partners… Even if I  _ am _ surprised by the number of them.”

Minowa snorted and rolled her eyes fondly before looking down at Victor. “Welcome back,  _ Diimalkro _ . How are you feeling?” 

The brunette let her help him sit up in bed, and as he looked at her again he gasped as a familiar sensation filled him, his mage sight activating for the first time in months. For the first time, he could see the powerful aura of magic that surrounded his female partner, the energy taking on the form of a dragon curled around her protectively. “ _ Oh _ …” He whispered in awed reverence, drinking in her beautiful form. “That… you…” He reached for her, and as she took his hands he gasped again at the feeling. “Your magic is so  _ beautiful _ …” He breathed, looking up at her with tears in his eyes. 

A brilliant smile broke across Min’s face, tears welling up in her own eyes. In a smooth movement, she gently cupped his face and pressed a chaste kiss to his lips, one that was joyfully reciprocated. She pulled away after a few seconds, silly smiled on both of their faces. They were pulled back to reality when a soft cough caught their attention, and the duo looked towards Kristoff who was looking anywhere  _ but  _ them with a massive grin on his face. “Oh, don’t stop on my account. Just keep it PG-13, and I won’t complain… much.” 

“If you don’t like it, you can leave the room, bub.” Logan shot the young man a smirk as he, Bruce, James, and Erik came through the door as well. Within seconds, the men had all converged on the bed, eager to welcome their last member back to the waking world. 

Kris’ smile softened noticeably as he watched the group. Clearly, every single member of the group loved his father very deeply. It brought him a sense of relief and contentment that his father would be taken care of going forward, that they would cherish him in a way Reed Richards would have  _ never _ understood. Another set of footsteps pulled his attention to the door again, and he turned to find Tony quietly stepping into the room. “Dr. Stark,” He greeted the man quietly while stepping over to him, “thank you again for your invitation and hospitality. I’m glad my dad has found such a wonderful family here while he’s been under your care.” 

Cognac eyes sparkled as the man sighed dramatically. “Kristoff, I told you that it’s okay to call me Tony. Min is basically my sister, so you’re essentially my nephew. I think we can drop the honorifics.” 

The king snorted and shrugged with a grin. “So I should call you Uncle Tony instead? Would that make Minowa my mom?” The genius barked out a laugh at the question, though he didn’t answer beyond a shrug. A sudden shocked, pained cry caused their attention to whip towards the bed from fear and shock. “Dad?? What’s wrong??”

The former monarch had his hands over his eyes, a grimace on his face. “He’s so  _ bright _ …” He gasped in shock, trying to will away the pain that had suddenly erupted behind his eyes. 

The realization hit Kristoff a second later. “I take it Tony's magical aura is pretty damn powerful.”

Victor nodded, and Minowa gently began to rub his back. “You could simply turn it off, love…”

After a second or two, the brunette shook his head. “Actually, I… I can’t.”

James reached over to gently thread his fingers through Victor’s hair in a soothing motion. “Can you explain why not?” He asked in a calm, soothing voice. He could tell his partner was in pain, and there was something terribly unsure in his tone and body language.

“I… I don’t know  _ how _ .” The man admitted quietly, still keeping his eyes covered. “I never received any formal training, and everything I know about magic has been learned from self-study and practice.”

A sound of understanding escaped Minowa, and she quickly reached forward and took his head in her hands to place a set of temporary blocks on the mage sight. “That should hold for now. We’ll help you learn to harness your magic properly, I promise.” 

The group as a whole nodded at her words. “Just like trainin’ your muscles again, Vic.” Logan reassured him with a confident smile on his face. 

James reached to gently run his fingers through the former monarch’s hair. “We’ll be with you every step of the way, no matter what.” He murmured soothingly before leaning in to press a kiss to his temple. 

“We may not be able to use magic ourselves,” Erik added as he reached to rub the brunette’s neck with a small smile on his face, “But we’ll do whatever we can to help.” 

For a few seconds, Victor allowed himself to bask in the shared comfort and support of his partners, the feeling of home and love nearly powerful enough to bring him to tears. Finally, he took a deep breath and looked up and around at the people he loved and cared about so much. “Thank you, all of you.” He whispered with a look of breathtaking gratitude and adoration on his face. “I’m so lucky to have you all in my life…” They all converged on him in an enormous group hug, prompting a startled, joyful laugh from the man. As they pulled away, he wiped the tears from his eyes and asked, “So, who’s going to be teaching me?”

The shit-eating grin that slowly crossed Tony’s face filled Victor with the sense that he was going to regret asking. 

\---

“ _ All of you _ ??”

Tony cackled at the stunned look on the former monarch’s face as the group stood in the indoor training room. “Well, why not? We all use different kinds of magic-- best to find out what you’re really good at and go from there!”

Victor looked at the group in front of him in stunned silence for several seconds. Tony was joined by Stephen, Loki, Minowa, and Bridget, all with varying degrees of mirth on their faces. The silence of the room was finally broken by the monarch groaning and looking towards the heavens. “I  _ knew _ I was going to regret asking.”

The laughter that erupted from the group could be heard from several floors down. No matter how exasperated the brunette might be asking, they knew he would be happier, not to mention more centered, with access to his magic again. It was just one more step on the road to recovery.

And no matter where that road took him… he’d have people to support and cheer him on every step of the way. 

\---

“I think you should tell Anthony about the situation involving your mother.” 

Victor looked up startled at the words from Minowa, who was sitting curled up against Erik with James on her other side, playing with her hair. “Do you think he would be able to help?” He asked softly, setting his mug of cocoa in his lap. 

A soft snort of laughter escaped Logan at the question, and he gently squeezed the younger man’s shoulder with the hand of the arm wrapped around his shoulders currently. “Babe, Tony’s a Reaper, can wield omni-magic, and is the damn  _ Soul Stone _ . If anyone could help with freeing your mom, it’d be him.” 

The former monarch conceded that point and a request to FRIDAY had Tony Corridor-ing in within a few minutes. He couldn’t help but smile at the sweet image the group cuddled up together made. “Hey guys, FRIDAY said you needed to talk to me about something.”

Bruce nodded from his position on Victor’s other side. “Yeah, thanks for coming. We have something we need to bring to your attention… Vic? You wanna take it from here?”

Victor nodded as Tony took a seat on the coffee table across from him. He quickly explained the situation involving his prior history with Hadrian, his mother’s soul, and the demon currently holding it captive. The genius remained quiet the whole time, listening intently and asking questions for clarification when needed. Once the former monarch was done with his story, Tony gave him a compassionate smile and patted his knee comfortingly. “Thank you for letting me know, Victor. Once we get your magical strength up, we’ll do everything in our power to help set her free-- you, your partners, me, whoever else wants to tag along… the whole nine yards.”

A look of profound relief crossed Victor’s face at the declaration. “Thank you, Tony,” He croaked, voice thick with gratitude. “I’ve tried so many times, and I’ve lost every time… the citizens of Latveria despise me by now-- it was a condition of the deal with Mephisto that every time I lose, the people would grow to hate me more and more.” 

“Considering you were an untrained magic user going up against a damn  _ demon _ …” Erik grumbled with a dark look on his face, “That’s a dick move to make.”

“Well, you said it yourself,” James reminded him with a grim smirk on his face, “He’s a demon. I don’t think it’s in their nature to be nice or fair.” 

A furrow formed in Logan’s brow as he turned his eyes to Minowa, who was watching the proceedings quietly. “The whole deal thing reminds me of your Uncle Clavicus, Min.” 

Slit-pupiled crimson eyes regarded him with a droll look. “Considering this is the  _ exact _ kind of deal he would make, I’m completely unsurprised.” 

The group was quiet for a few seconds before Tony suddenly perked up. “Tell you what, we’ll talk details about freeing your mom’s soul once you’ve recovered from your surgery and have built up some of your magical strength. In the meantime…” He gave Minowa a massive grin, prompting an arched eyebrow from the woman. “Min… does your family know about your newest partners? I don’t think they’ve had a chance to meet Victor or Erik…” 

Minowa’s face was blank for a few seconds before a twitch formed in her eye. Tony howled with laughter as he made his escape through another Corridor, the sound of Minowa swearing viciously in dovahzul filling the room behind him. 


End file.
